Tammy Dunlop would love to carpool to work, but it’s just not feasible.
The self-professed environmentalist said carpooling in Calgary just doesn’t work.
“It’s just not convenient and would add a lot of travel time to and from work. It’s tough because there isn’t anyone around me that I can carpool with where I have to go,” she said.
Dunlop isn’t alone. Although there are 3,000 registered carpooling commuters in Calgary, thousands of motorists can’t and don’t — but Calgary is around the national average, according to carpool.ca spokesperson Anne Marie Thornton.
“We’re asking people to carpool and sometimes there isn’t a lot of incentive, so it can be challenging,” she said.
“It’s not that Calgary is low, Calgary is about the same as the rest of the country in numbers. When gas prices are higher, you see more people carpooling.”
That is why awareness campaigns like Calgary’s 7th Annual Carpool Week Oct. 19 to Oct. 23 is important, she added.
“We’re just trying to let people know it doesn’t have to be a weeklong commitment. One or two days a week, baby steps, is definitely a great start.”
Since Carpool.ca was introduced in Calgary in 2002, there have been more than 11,000 users in the region.
For more information, check carpool.ca.
